Mechanical Landscapes

About

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I don’t have much in the way of formal artistic training (which probably shows through in my photographs) as I’m an engineer by education and profession (which probably shows through in my photographs). My life has been spent living and working in the industrial landscape of Lancashire, forever staying, as David Plowden would say “one step ahead of the wrecking ball”, both as a photographer and in my engineering career. My photography is a reflection of this – I’m both an insider looking out, and an outsider looking in. I’ve spent my life naively figuring out ways round my own perceived limitations (usually doing things the hard way) and I’ve spent the past few years experimenting my way through four solo exhibitions, twenty five (and counting) 90 minute talks on my photography at camera clubs across the north of England and am on the second edition of my self published book ‘Shadows of the North’. I’ve also had the privilege of being commissioned to photograph London Road Fire Station using the Samsung Galaxy S7 as part of the launch for O2 in the UK. 

My aim is not just to present a record of the places I visit, but to present a ‘creative treatment of actuality’, a term coined by the Scottish filmmaker John Grierson. Black and white photography is a medium which allows me more leeway to express something beyond just “I was here, this is what I saw”.

I also do a bit of writing, something else I’ve a lifelong love of but precious little talent for. But I persist – my main blog is at blog.mechanicallandscapes.com and there’s also a few more in-depth articles on this area of my website – www.mechanicallandscapes.com/articles.

I hope you enjoy the photographs on Mechanical Landscapes, please leave me any feedback (good or bad) via my contact page.

Publications
Amateur Photographer, 31st January 2009, 4th June 2011

Urban Realm, Brymbo Ironworks, Summer 2012

Lancashire Magazine, Accrington Conservative Club, January 2014

BBC News Online – March 2014, Backbarrow Ironworks magazine article (click here)

Manchester Evening News – 20th March 2016, London Road Fire Station, print and online editions (click here)

Independent, London Road Fire Station – 18th March 2016 (click here)

Professional Image Maker – February/March 2019 (click here)

Exhibitions
August – October 2014, Ebb and Flo Bookshop, Chorley

October 2014 – January 2015, Georgian House, Bolton

February 2015, Helmshore Mills Textile Museum

June – December 2015, Queen Street Mills Textile Museum

November – December 2017, Saddleworth Museum and Art Gallery

November – December 2019, Astley Hall, Chorley

September – October 2020, Peak District Lead Mining Museum, Matlock,

Commercial
O2 – Samsung Galaxy S7 Launch http://news.o2.co.uk/?press-release=urban-explorer-snaps-eerie-pics-samsung-galaxy-s7-o2 or PDF

Comments

4 responses to “About”

  1. provo7775 Avatar
    provo7775

    Absolutely love your work. I’m new to photography, train Conductor in Chicago Illinois for my living but throw the camera down after viewing your pictures, I’ve got a lot to learn. Fantastic work!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. andy Avatar
      andy

      Thank you! If you’ve not seen my other blog https://planesboatstrains.wordpress.com then please have a look!

      Like

      Reply
  2. provo7775 Avatar
    provo7775

    Seriously?
    Can’t believe I missed that!
    Thank you very much.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. provo7775 Avatar
    provo7775

    Oddly enough I begin my trips from Proviso yard, my father was a Conductor for the C&NW railroad , in 1995 when the Union Pacific bought them he stayed on and retired after 41 years.
    I started a little over 12 years ago with the Union Pacific as a brakeman, now Conductor.
    As a child I would go to Proviso train yard with my father to get his paycheck if I was on good behavior which wasn’t often. Years later I’m now following my father’s footsteps although they are big shoes to fill , sadly I’m sure you’re unaware of this the Union Pacific Railroad has implemented a failed policy called “Precision railroading” in which they cut employees to the Bone reroute as many trains as they can all to make as much money as quickly as possible and then abandon the plan when they are finally addressed by the federal government becasuse customers aren’t getting their products and the main lines are jammed up, when they announced over a year ago that they were going to implement precision railroading the UP stock went up 9 billion dollars not a million 9 billion dollars in a single day. Hunter Harrison implemented the same plan with the CP Railroad and then the CSX shortly before his death. The plan doesn’t work of course but what it does do is make alot of money, extremely large sum of quick cash for the shareholders they’re not interested if it works or not because they know it doesn’t. So the Proviso hump is closed as I write this, it was last week that it humped its last car, tracks are empty and only yard 9 and the East End of yard 4 have any cars for now.
    Nobody knows if this is the true end for Proviso but it’s a ghost town so these pictures mean even more if that’s even possible. Thank you for directing me here, big fan of the work you do. Thank you very much!

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